Monday column: The gem in the rubbish bin

Times of Oman

6 days ago

In my usual evening walks, I saw something glittering on top of a heap of rubbish under a flood of lights from a passing car. I guess it was a curiosity more than anything else that made me stop. I bent over to have a closer look competing with a couple of cats who were helping themselves to a meal of leftovers. I would normally not be seen rummaging a rubbish dump. I guess it was the idea of a mysterious gem lying ideal in the middle of the muck that got better of my good sense.
I kicked the old cans, greasy plastic bags and all the nasty rejects of the houses in the neighbourhood but the 'gem' was no where to be found. I gave up after a couple of minutes and continued with my walk not realising that my trainers were covered with dirt. Looking back, why on earth would I want to look through a smelly bin in the dark? The action surprised me. It was also uncharacteristic of me.
However, looking deeper at my background, as a kid, I used to dream of accidentally kicking the biggest diamond in the world while walking on the beach. It was not the money but the idea of making headlines that inspired the dream. I guess my early reading of books like King Solomon's Mines had something to do with it.
Perhaps subconsciously, I might have been attracted by people who make their living from searching the bins. Perhaps the search of unknown from unlikely places might be behind it. It might not be that ridiculous. Sometimes, under all the refinement we put on the front, we really have some ridiculous habits that we rather not talk about.
While I might have an urge or two to go into rubbish bins, others find the impulse to wake up in the middle of the night to raid the kitchen impossible to tame. People normally don't talk about it and they deny if they are 'caught.' I think we all go through different phases as we travel through the passage of life. We sometimes try to fill the voids in our existence with some excitements.
I think searching for simplicity in a complex life makes us unhappy.
When the tough gets going we are pushed to look for peace of mind in unlikely places. Once the bustle of life in the city gets the better of us, we become envious of the primitive routine of a villager. Yet, the funny thing, most villagers now want to be part of the city.
That's why, I guess, most of the city big shots have a place in the countryside. It is an escape retreat when the pressure becomes unbearable. Even a weekend drive far away from home at a spot no one is around can be therapeutic. But with financial pressure mounting, a weekend away can put a dent on our coffers.
Now, as write this column, I find the answer to my impulse to rummage the bins. Unknown to me then, it was my escape route. It might only have been a pin that sat on top of the rubbish. Like a flash in the pan, it served its purpose when I walked away from the 'two-minute expedition.'